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PRESS RELEASE
Press Release: New Destination for Senior and Disabled Group Travel
New eco-conscious expeditions in the Mexican Caribbean launched to provide alternative for seniors and disabled.
Playa del Carmen, Mexico, 12 Sept 2008 Project Mayan Encounter launches expeditions in the Riviera Maya that combine nature with cultural experience. Tours are geared towards small groups, but individuals are welcome, too.
The idea is to bring the beauty of this geographical location and its rich culture to the so-called baby boom generation, senior citizens, and people with disabilities, as well as anyone who chooses to explore fauna, flora, culture and the region’s archaeological wealth at a relaxed pace. Most tour operators are forced to work within a tight rotation schedule, while those that have an environmentally and socially conscious focus oftentimes specialize in physical activities and adventure.
A forum has been opened to serve as a knowledge base for vacationers and trip planners, such as senior or disability organizations and agencies, group travel agents or any eco-conscious individual, to pick from a variety of activities and design their perfect “à-la-carte” travel experience.
Behind the project stands Stefanie Baeker, a German native from the North Sea coast, where green tourism prevails. Her understanding of tourism, coupled with her association with an online portal for low vision and blindness resources since early 2004, as well as her interest in Mayan history and the local biosphere reserves, have sparked the idea for Project Mayan Encounter. She has lived in the Riviera Maya for 5 years.
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 Bird Watching The winter months are usually best for bird watching in the Sian Ka’an biosphere, although there are still a gazillion of tropical birds to see year round. We take you out on a boat ride in the lagoon and you get to float in the crystal clear and cool canals, the ancient trade ways of the Mayans. The price inclusive guided roundtrip transfer from and to Playa del Carmen is $128 per person, and comes down if you are a small group. Please let us know if we need to make any accessibility preparations to ensure that this will be a special day for you: info at accessecotours.com
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Medicinal Plant Workshops Together with some ’alchemists’ in the Mayan communities we are offering plant workshops to show you the benefits and use of medicinal plants for alternative healing. Bring your list of questions!
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Tulum Green House Tours If you are interested in ecologically intelligent construction join Tamara for a house-tour. This will be an interesting alternative while visiting Tulum, and you may find some inspiration for environmentally beneficial modifications of you own home, or even decide to move here and build your eco-house! Look at wind and solar energy, green building material, compost toilets, natural irrigation systems, recycling, permaculture etc. Tamara also sells biodegradable house cleaners and cosmetics. Email us at info @ accessecotours.com to set you up, or call Tamara directly if you are already in Tulum: 984-135-3773. Tours are ongoing and the cost is 200 pesos (aprx $20).
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 Blind School in Playa del Carmen Further developments of the blind school in Playa del Carmen: The Braille printer that ViewPlus has generously donated was delivered to DIF (Family Development Agency), specifically to Juan Simon, the Braille instructor, on August 28, 2009. See pictures on Facebook. This would not have been possible without the equally generous help of “Scottie”, my fellow volunteer at the diabetes program at Angel Notion, who donated the shipping costs. The next step is to get warm with using the printer.
More exciting news is that HumanWare, one of the largest manufacturers of assistive technology for the vision impaired, is going to help with slates, styluses and other voice-output technology.
We are always grateful for any help in form of computers, audio or large print books, Braille paper, note takers, talking watches or calculators, canes, abacuses, headphones, speakers, manual or e-magnifiers, talking dictionaries and cell phones, curriculum and lesson plans in Spanish or English.
Please email me at info @ accessecotours.com or stef @ ocusource.com to arrange things—whether you are coming down yourself, send small stuff through someone you know is coming down, or send a shipment. Or call Juan Simon on his cell phone in Mexico: +52(1)984-137-3063 or at his desk: +52-984-877-3037. Donations can be tax write-offs.
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Green Expo Tulum 2009 Tulum is the eco-pearl of the Riviera Maya, where sustainable living is written in capitals. Besides eco-conscious locals, tourists and investors develop an ever growing interest in this area. The entire “hotel zone” (they are actually neat cabana-style eco lodges, appealing to various budgets) generates electricity with solar and wind energy. The 2nd Green Expo Tulum is a two-day event, where ecologically-minded businesses from across the country meet to show new and trusted technologies for sustainable living and environmental protection. If you happen to be in the area, visit on Friday, Aug 7 and Saturday, Aug 8. In the name of Project Mayan Encounter I am going to speak on eco tourism and the integration of disabled & senior travelers on Saturday at 10.00 am.
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Swimming with Whale Sharks These peaceful ocean creatures reach a length of about 12 meters (40ft) and are one of the largest living fish species. They can weigh up to 15 tons. Experience coming eye to eye with these giant vegetarians when they pass the north tip of the Yucatan Peninsula between June and August. I went to their feeding spots with Ocean Tours on May 26th and got to swim with some of them already—what a trip! But that’s not all: we passed by Isla Contoy, an uninhabited bird sanctuary, and did some snorkeling at the reef near Isla Mujeres, where we saw many other marine species under & above the water level.
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Kohunlich Ruins in Southern Mexico Coming back from an awesome trip to the Kohunlich ruins and Bacalar lagoon. View photos on Facebook!
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XCACEL TURTLE SANCTUARY needs serious help! In a nutshell, some business heads are trying to build a hotel and mess up the ecosystem. Mangrove Action Project has information in English. The Riviera Maya is one of the world’s most desirable vacation destinations, in particular because of its beautiful marine life, and therefore is a very valuable area for the Mexican economy. So your signature can make a difference!
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Finding Your Purpose with Astrology Those who know me are aware of my deep interest in the cosmic laws. In the fall 2009 I have created pages with some basic factors of astrology for people who are curious about themselves. With your exact birth time and place, get a birth chart somewhere online (there are a gazillion of sites offering them for free—I personally like Astrodienst.com). This is a very rough guide only, but you’ll get a glance of what’s up for you this lifetime. Have fun exploring yourself!
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Guide Published: Open Britain Tourism for All & Radar in the UK have partnered-up and published a new guide on accessible tourism. Click here to read the press release on their site.
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Accessible Diving We want to invite Veterans and anyone with mobility impairments to join us on a dive trip to sites at the Pacific coast, Hawaii, or around Cozumel Island in Mexico. Please email us about dates, details and prices.
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BotaniK: Biodegradable Sun Block, After-Sun Balm & Mosquito Repellent—Made in Mexico I met the producer  at the Think Green Expo 2008. Their organic line is free of paraben, petroleum derivates, preservatives, synthetic colorants or sodium lauryl sulfate. Not quite sure whether you can eat it, but for sure this is organic stuff! Products are good for approximately six months. The 100 ml (3.5 oz) bottle is sold at $8.95 plus shipping & handling, if applicable. I am offering these to my travelers now. The producers don’t have a website yet, but please email me if you are interested in the ‘traveler line’, or any other cosmetics (for face, hair, body, baby, hands, or feet).
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web by michi Ich möchte diese wunderbare Webseite mit allen teilen, die der deutschen Sprache mächtig sind, und sich sowohl fuer Natur & Umweltschutz, als auch für effiziente Webpräsenz interessieren. Die Verfasserin –ich habe das Glück, sie persönlich zu kennen— spricht damit zwei der aktuellsten Themen unserer Zeit an. Mir gefällt, wie klar und kompetent der Inhalt gestaltet ist, und freue mich schon auf Updates. Bremerhaven ist auch mein ‘Heimathafen’, und ich glaube, dass Michi den ein oder anderen Leser zu einem Trip an die herrlich frische Nordseeküste inspiriert!
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Nature & Culture Trips in the San Francisco Bay Area Learn about the Miwok tribes, and regional fauna and flora. Check out the summer program and feel free to email with special requests!
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RiverSea Getaway This is a red-hot insider tip for a quick escape from urban turbulence, any time of the year! Visit Kathy & Jim in their beautiful Bed & Breakfast lodge in Guerneville, CA. A creek runs along the property, the Russian River is just a short walk away, and the Wine County, Pacific ocean, and Redwood forests are just a few minutes away by car. You can even help in the organic garden, if you feel like! Follow the link below for contact info. Just a warning: it’s really hard to leave!
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I CAN TRAVEL—a great new resource which has been pointed out by one of my clients. We have decided on a 10% discount on the basic Caribbean itineraries for I CAN TRAVEL members. Check out the blog.
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Kayab Naturaterapia Sabina guides you through the process of creating metabolic balance in your system. This could be a very nice reason to visit the Riviera Maya! Get inspired through a visit to her website.
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Successfully passed NCGR-PAA Level 1 Exam
I'm happy to announce that since Sept 30, 2010, I hold the level 1 NCGR-PAA Certificate (National Council for Geocosmic Research - Professional Astrologer Alliance). Great, my brain is never running out of space!
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Holiday Special Until the end of 2010 I serve my purpose by giving away Cosmic Snapshots - that means we take a 15min quick glance at your birth chart and its most significant indicators. With this I want to inspire those who are not yet used to working with planetary energies and natural laws. Email me with your exact time and place of birth.
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Mayan Artwork
 My Mayan friend Antonia and her family create some remarkably beautiful artwork. Besides this very neat natural jewelry – all made with material that Mother Nature provides – they produce some very fine honey and honey products, as well as natural charcoal. Turning this into a commercial business would take away its uniqueness, but I’d like to encourage travelers who join me on a trip to the ancient city of Coba, or my website visitors who like the style, to get in touch with me so that I can intervene in purchasing a few handcrafted pieces. Bracelets, necklaces or key chains start as low as 25 pesos (approx. $2.50). Over the years I have become someone who prefers introspection during the ‘Holidays’, rather than extroversion in form of parties and shopping frenzies – so to me this seems as a very meaningful way to give.
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Astrología Para La Paz Interior Al fin se realizo la expo Think Green 2011 en Playa del Carmen, y como había prometido a varias personas, comparto el folleto de mi pequeña plática en esta página.
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Summer in the San Francisco Bay Area Experience the Pacific seashore, majestic Redwood forests, Native American heritage, mineral & mud baths, sustainable farming and winemaking, or kayak in the San Francisco Bay. These tours officially run from May to October and can be conducted in German, English, Spanish or French. As always, we adapt to accommodate travelers with special needs and we welcome seniors. Find details on the Tours & Prices page!
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Nutrition for Mind & Soul Founder of the movement Raising Love Consciousness, Kashonia Carnegie, has invested quite some time and effort to make the past 50 interviews available that she conducted over the recent years, including the one with Project Mayan Encounter founder, aka myself. All of Kashonia's interviews touch on a variety of timely relevant topics, such as crop circles; cosmic sciences; Hopi, Maya and Inca wisdom; psychology; sustainability; natural health; socio-economic and ecological matters, etc. This has really turned into a wealth of useful information, and for a donation, you can download any of the interviews instantly.
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Take Good Care of Yourself! Not even officially launched yet, and already a best seller at Amazon: Cultivating Radiance by Tamara Gerlach. Tam's book landed among the top 100 in the category Happiness... must I say more?
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Breaking Barriers in the Riviera Maya Project Mayan Encounter is now collaborating with AdaptA Accessible Travel in the Riviera Maya! We are joining forces to become a substantial resource for travelers with physical limitations, who want to experience this beautiful spot on Earth. Respecting local fauna, flora and communities, we want to help create wellbeing and healing by bringing people out to the Caribbean Sea, white sand beaches, the Meso-American Barrier Reef, the unique underground river system, tropical jungle and mangrove zones with all its inhabitants, and of course the mystic Mayan temples. Adapta provides advanced technical equipment, such as amphibia and beach wheelchars, accessible vans, etc., so that we can move about the "Mayan Backroads" with more ease. The summer months are perfect for swimming with whale sharks (June to August), and the winter months are particularly good for bird watching (November to April). The official rain season is from June to end October, and that's when airfaire drops. Tours can be conducted in Spanish, English, German or French. Check out the links in the left panel for travel resources, or email us about details - we are happy to assist in putting a package together!
 
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Bringing Down Prices for SF Bay Area Trips
Because of mini groups with budget restraints, that are interested in a certain tour, we have started operating mixed, open tours. That way we can break down the costs over a larger number of heads. People of all ages and abilities are welcome. Our next open field trip will take us to the 31st Annual Big Time Festival at Kule Loklo, a Coast Miwok Cultural Exhibit which is located at the Point Reyes National Seashore. Besides seeing presenters in action in basketry, flint knapping, clamshell bead making, we learn more about the culture and traditions of the Coast Miwok and other local American Indians at a variety of informational booths. Traditional dancers from the Intertribal Pomo group and Dry Creek Pomo will perform. Vendors will also be selling a wide variety of crafts.
Please join us for a family-friendly excursion on Saturday, July 16, 2011 between 10 am to 4 pm. This organized tour starts at $62 per person, based on a maximum occupancy of 15 participants, and includes roundtrip transportation from/to the East Bay (most convenient location to be determined), bridge toll, snacks, soft drinks, and a picknic lunch.
Please get in touch to reserve your spot quickly, so that we can plan the logistics.
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Riviera Maya August 2011 I will be in the Riviera Maya myself from July 29 to Aug 16 to lead some tours. These dates are already booked: Aug 1, 4, 6, 9 and maybe 11. If you feel like experiencing Mayan temples and culture, tropical fauna & flora, sweet water pools, great food, warm weather and the barrier reef, get in touch with us. This time we get to use sophisticated assistive technology - so if you encounter mobility limitations: Welcome! Tours can be conducted in Deutsch, Español, Français and English.
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Joining Forces with AdaptA Maya
I have just published 3 photo albums and 2 videos on our Facebook page (you will need to be signed in to view) from the most recent trips that I have led in collaboration with AdaptA Maya, an agency specialized in equipment rental and tourism for travelers who face physical limitations. I have met with part of their team in the Riviera Maya to open this new relationship, and using their assistive technology was a huge help. The founder of AdaptA is an architect, specialized in making buildings accessible.
  
With a fully accessible van, we picked up our traveling couple from Germany at the Cancun airport and brought them to the hotel for a walk-through and introduction. They had a day to relax before our private escorted tours.
Our first trip took us to a destination that I do not typically have on my plan: the Xcaret theme park. It’s said to be the most popular park in Mexico, and visitors come from across the world - even during low season. The park is very accessible and we saw about 10 other wheelchair users that day. Our travelers took advantage of AdaptA’s special offer of $250 for a beach wheelchair and an electric scooter for their entire stay of 2 weeks in the Barceló Costa Cancun.
A few days later, we took a tour to Chichen Itza. Our traveler was using the scooter, which came in handy because of its wide wheels. I had previously used regular wheelchairs only, and the thinner wheels are more delicate with the little pebble stones and roots. We had a late lunch at the palapa restaurant in the garden of the Mayaland hotel, adjacent to the Chichen Itza site.
Since they wanted to swim with the whale sharks as they are migrating at the north tip of the Yucatan peninsula from June to August, I set our travelers up for an extra tour. This time they took the beach wheel chair, and the day turned out perfectly - even though this van was a regular vehicle and the group was not private. Before joining forces with AdaptA, there was much more improvising necessary - although I can proudly say that everyone I have worked with has been very supportive in accommodating my special travelers. It is a nice contrast to notice the comfort of using AdaptA’s advanced equipment.
Our last planned trip was a combination of visiting the archaeological site in Tulum in the morning (wait for icons to load, then click on city, then click tab for English), and the XelHa aquatic park in the afternoon. The nice thing about Xcaret and XelHa is that they are well prepared for wheelchair users – that includes restaurants, bathrooms, super helpful staff, and the majority of their facilities. In XelHa, we were given a special map with routes for wheelchair users. We took the ‘train’ to the entrance of the underground river, and transferred our traveler from her scooter onto a floating tube to enter the water. Then she slipped out and just floated in her life vest, as she did in the underground river in Xcaret before. Even though there is a hydraulic chair installed, we exited at a different location and transferred to the scooter again. For about $18 - $20 per day, visitors can rent beach wheelchairs in XelHa also, but it makes more sense to rent one from AdaptA, because you can use it at the beach of your hotel during your entire stay.
Since the Riviera Maya is an important region for generating income through tourism, a lot is being done to accommodate mature travelers and those with special needs, who prefer a different pace than the ‘Spring Breakers’. My goal is lend a hand to those who need, so that they can experience the beauty of the Yucatan peninsula, while blending in respectfully with the environment - preserving local fauna, flora and communities.
Private, escorted, and accessible tours are available to the Sian Ka’an biosphere reserve by boat, canoe or kayak; Chichen Itza and Tulum archaeological sites, Muyil temples and lagoon, Mayan villages, and now the Xcaret and XelHa parks. All tours can be conducted in German, Spanish, English and French. Most all-inclusive resorts throughout the Riviera Maya are well accessible, but for those who like to travel individually, we have selected some small hotels, pensions and eco-lodges in Playa del Carmen and Bacalar that are accessible; including one for Germans who don’t speak Spanish or English.
Please email us for accessibility details, or to reserve your scooter, wheelchair, cane, walker, TTY kit, or any other assistive technology.
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We recently went on tour with our oldest traveler so far: a 90 (!) year old biologist and former college professor, eager to study the ecosystem of the Yucatan peninsula and learn about the Mayan culture. He and his 60-year-old daughter came to visit for a week.
The independent, appreciative and open-minded person that he is, our mature adventurer has been an incredible inspiration for everyone we met along the way - including me!
Has he not only handled the email communication, itinerary adjustment and trip booking during the months prior to the trip - but also challenged himself with some pioneer activities: for the first time he used an electric scooter, and sat in a kayak! Meeting him reminded me that an optimistic mindset and a self-confident attitude towards life promote longevity and health.
See pictures of the tour on our Facebook page.
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